It’s your home
If you are a lodger, the information in this section does not apply to you.
It’s your home. Your landlord or agent must not disturb or harass you. Your landlord can only visit when it is convenient for you unless it’s an emergency.
If your landlord is harassing you or trying to force you out without going to court first, get advice.
Landlords must let you live in the home you rent without unnecessary interference. For as long as you live there, it is your home. That means you have a right to say who comes in and who does not.
You have a responsibility as a tenant to give reasonable access to your landlord when there is something that needs repairing. You should always be reasonable and polite to your landlord in the same way that you can expect of them.
Your landlord should give you at least 24 hours’ notice in writing if they plan to come to your home – unless it’s an emergency.
Your landlord should never let themselves into your home without your permission. This is also true if you rent a room in a house or flat, though the landlord may have a right of access to the common parts in order to clean and maintain them.
Your landlord (or anyone employed by them, such as an agent) should not harass you in your home or make it difficult for you to stay there. Get further information on what constitutes harassment and what you can do about it on the Shelter website.
The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 applies to landlords and tenants as much as to anybody else. This law makes it a criminal offence for any person to repeatedly (on at least two occasions, or on one occasion to each of two or more people) harass another person. Harassing someone includes threats of violence or other unacceptable behaviours that deliberately causes alarm or distress. This might include 'stalking' such as following, watching or spying on a tenant, or repeatedly arriving unexpectedly or at unreasonable hours. If your landlord is harassing you, you should report the matter to the police. If your landlord threatens you with violence, you should always call 999 and report them immediately.